Story perspectives

NODE Exhibition Features Controversial Dog-Bots with Elon Musk's Face

4/19/2026

Summary

Story summary

A new exhibition at NODE, a digital art center in Palo Alto, showcases unsettling dog-bots, including one featuring an artificial face of Elon Musk.
The bots promote Beeple's "Regular Animals" exhibition, which was previously displayed in San Francisco earlier this month.
NODE presents the exhibition as a mid-career survey of artist Mike Winkelmann, known as Beeple.
The robots act as dynamic canvases, capturing memories on the blockchain for three years before "dying" and retaining their experiences.
It is unclear whether Elon Musk approved the use of his likeness in the artwork.

1 of 1

Story summary

A new exhibition at NODE, a digital art center in Palo Alto, showcases unsettling dog-bots, including one featuring an artificial face of Elon Musk.
The bots promote Beeple's "Regular Animals" exhibition, which was previously displayed in San Francisco earlier this month.
NODE presents the exhibition as a mid-career survey of artist Mike Winkelmann, known as Beeple.
The robots act as dynamic canvases, capturing memories on the blockchain for three years before "dying" and retaining their experiences.
It is unclear whether Elon Musk approved the use of his likeness in the artwork.